After a surprisingly long time in Normaltown, serving delicious tamales and Peruvian sandwiches as well as cancha, Peruvian spaghetti and more, Las Conchitas Caliente has closed for the time being, much to my chagrin. The restaurant may have been a little less user-friendly than your typical Mexican joint, but it was the last bastion of Peruvian cuisine in Athens. Thankfully, its owners have passed the baton to another entrepreneur in the same genre, a man who owns a popular Peruvian restaurant in Gwinnett County. For now, the storefront remains closed, but Joey Tatum, the landlord, who supplied all this information, thinks it should be up and running again as a restaurant fairly soon.

The flip side of the coin is Taqueria La Parrilla, which continues to thrive, should be opening its Eastside location at 855 Gaines School Rd., in the Towers Shopping Center, on Monday, Sept. 24.